Machine for imparting flexibility to the soles of boots and shoes.



C. S. NORDEN. MACHINE FOR IMPARTING FLEXIBILITY TO THE SOLES 0F BOOTS AND SHOES;

APPLICATION FILED NOV. ll, 19H.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFF oE.

.QARL s. NORDEN, 0F WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN'OR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR IMPAETING FLEXIBILITY TO THE SOLES 0F BOOTS ANIJ, SHOES.

T 0 all whom/it may concern Be it-known that I, CARL S. NoRnEN, a subject of the Kingof Sweden, residing at Wakefield, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Imparting Flexibility to the Soles of Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. This invention relates to a machine for increasing the flexibility of a piece of stock and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for imparting flexibility to the sole of a shoe. i

A sole before it is attached to the upper of a shoe has a certain stiffness, and an additional stiffness is imparted to it by the operations performed upon it during said attachment. The soles of boots and shoes are, therefore, often to a noticeable and objectionable degree stiff and unyielding so that a certain amount of discomfort. is caused the wearer until the boot or shoe has been subjected to considerable wear.

The general object of the present invention is to remove as completely as possible the stiffness caused by the'stitching, leveling and other operations and to' impart an additional flexibility to the sole. And to this end one feature of the invention consists, in the provision in a machine of the class described of a Support for a shoe and means for progressively flexing the sole of said shoe. Any suitable means for accomplishing this result may be'made use of,

and in the illustrated embodiment an un= 'dulation is produced in the sole, said undulation being caused to travel along the sole 'thoughout that portion of the sole to which flexibility is to be imparted.

Inasmuch as the upper of the shoe comprises certain parts to which a permanent stiffness is intentionally imparted, it is desirable that means be provided to prevent such parts from being crumpled or broken during the flexing of the sole; and another feature of the invention consists in the provision of such means. embodiment this takes the form of a too piece which is automatically held in the toe of the shoe and thereby prevents injury Specification of Letters Patent.

following connections.

In the illustrated Patented Aug. 17, .1915.

Application filed November 11, 1911. serial in. 659,701.

in connection. with an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

' Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of a machine in which the present invention is embodied; Fig. 2 is a plan of the shoe support showing the position it occupies in the shoe; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the shoe support and the cooperating Irollers, the sole of the- 1 shoe being shown in full lines in the position which it occupiesbefore pressure is applied,

and in dotted lines after the und'ulation or wave has been produced, I

The frame of the machine comprises a base 1, a standard 3, a platform 5, anarch 7 and two upright cooperating guides 9 and 11. Mounted in bearings supported on the platform 5 are rollers 13 herein shown as having a concave contour from end to end, said rollers being spaced so as to permit the sole of the shoe to be 'forced'down be-' tween them in a manner presently to be described. Slidably mounted on the cylindrical guide9and held from angular move ,ment by contact with the flat face of the guide 11 is a bracket '15 normally held in raised position by a spring 17 and arranged to be depressed by a treadle 19. through the carried at the end of a rod 21 which is pivoted to the standard of the machine at 23 and is connected by a link 25 with an arm 27, also pivoted to the standard at 29, said arm being normally held in raised position by means of a spring. Pivoted to the free end of the arm 27 at 33 is a yoke having attached to it a rod 35, said rod at'its upper end being attached to a cross bar 37. This cross bar atits extremities carries rods 39 which at their upper ends are connected with a second cross bar 41, carried by the sliding bracket 15. It will now be apparent that the bracket 15and treadle 19 are normally held in raised position and that depression of the threadle causes depression of the bracket 15.

The outer end of the bracket 15 is pro-.

The treadle 19 is shoe support, said arm being provided with a shoulder which abuts the flat under side of the enlargement 47 on the lower end of the bearing, and being held, in place by a cotter pin 49. A pin 51 set into the reduced end 43 of the arm 4.5 extends through a slot 53 in the bearing 42 and limits the angular movement of the arm 45. Attached to the lower end of the arm 15 by means of a flexible and extensible connection, herein shown as a coiled spring 55, is a toe-piece 57, the spring in the illustrative construction having one end coiled about a pin or projection 59 on the arm &5 and having the other end fastened in any suitable manner to the toepiece.

It is desirable that the box-toe of the shoe be adequately supported and that at the same time the proper flexing of the sole be permitted. For this reason, a toe=piecehaving resiliency is preferable, and in the illustrative machine the toe-piece is made of sheet metal, the walls of which are cleft or slotted as at 58. With this construction the desired resiliency is obtained so that the sole may be flexed in a manner presently to be described without injuring in any way the box toe of the shoe.

As has been stated, the rollers 13 are spaced apart. In order to providemeans whereby a portion of the sole of a shoe may be forced down into the space between these rollers a cross-piece is carried by the arm 45. Any suitable form of cross-piece may be employed, and in the illustrative machine a rod 61 is pinned to the arm 45, said rod being provided with sockets in which are located springs 63 and upon which are rotatably mounted caps 65 in the form of rollers. lVith this construction the ends of the crosspiece are held at all times in engagement with the sole throughout its entire width, the springs 63 holding the ends of the rollegs 65 in engagement with the upper of the s 0e.

Actuation of the rollers 13 may be accomplished in any desired manner and, as shown, there are fast to-the shafts of the rollers sprocket wheels 67 around which passes a chain 69 which is driven from a large sprocket wheel 71 mounted on a stud shaft 73. The shaft 73 also carries a toothed gear 74 which meshes with a rack 75, said rack being fast to a hand lever 77. which is pivoted to the frame of the machine at 79. In order to permittightening of the chain 69, the bearings of the outer one of the rollers 13 are carried by a slide 81 which may be moved in and out by means of a screw 83 having a square socket, as shown, to receive a suitablewrench.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The arm 45 is swung out from over the rollers 13 and a shoe is placed upon the shoe support, said shoe occupying the posi- -undulation or wave in the sole. lever 17 is then oscillated whereby the rolland forth along the sole of the shoe.

me ias the treadle 19. This causes the cross-piece of the support to force a portion of the sole of the shoe more or less down into the space between the rollers 13 thereby forming an The hand ers 13 are rotated first in one direction and then in the other. This causes the shoe to move forward and back with respect to the shoe support thereby causing the wave or undulation referred to above to travel Tib)ack uring this operation the toe-piece 57 moves with the shoe so-that there is no danger of injury to thebox-toe It should be understood that shoe supports of different sizes may be made use of, if desired, and particularly that interchangeable toe-pieces may be made use of in order to secure proper support for the box-toes of different sized shoes.

Although this machine may be used at any stage in the manufacture of a shoe which may seem desirable, it is particularly effective when made use of subsequent to the leveling operation, since this is the last operation in the manufacture of a shoe which tends to impart stiffness to the sole.

Although the invention has been set forth inconnection with a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the articular machine shown and described.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe, means coiiperating therewith for distorting the sole thereof to form an undulation therein, said means comprising members to engage both sides of said undulation, and means for causing said undulation to travel along said sole.

2. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination. a shoe support adapted to engage the inside of a shoe, said support comprising a cross-piece of small diameter, and ineans for bending succeeding portions of the sole of said shoe successively about said cross-piece.

3. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, a shoe support comprising a crosspiece, means for bending said sole about said cross-piece, and means for causing relative movement between said sole and cross-piece.

4. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, two rollers, having a space between them, a roller for pressing a portion of the sole of a lasted shoe into said space, and means for actuating said rollers.

A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, two rollers, having a space between them, a plurality of alined rollers for pressing a portion ofthe sole of a lasted shoe into said space, and means for'actuating said spaced rollers.

6. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, two rollers, having a space between them, a pluralitypof al ined rollers for pressing a portion of the sole of a shoe into said 1 space, springs tending to move sa1d alined rollers apart and means for actuating said spaced rollers.

7. A shoe flexing machine having, in combination, two spaced rollers, a shoe support comprising a cross-piece, sa1d cross-p1ece means'for producing in the sole of a shoe mounted upon saidsupport an undulation, and means for moving sa1d shoe lengthwlse of the sole thereof, said sustainer following said shoe in its movements.

9. A-mach1ne of the class described having, in combination, a shoesupport adapted to engage the insideof a shoe, said support comprising an extensible cross-piece of comparatively small cross-section positioned at substantially right angles to the longitudinal axis of the sole, and means for bend ing a portion of the sole of a shoe about said cross-piece. I

10. A machine of the class described havmg, in combination, a shoe support adapted to engage the inside of a shoe, said support comprising an extensible cross-piece of-comparatix'el small cross-section, and means for bendlng succeeding portions of the sole of said shoe successively about said crosspiece.

11. A machine of the class described having, in combination, two rollers having a space between-them, a support for a shoe comprising a cross-apiece, said cross-piece being located opposite said space, means for causing relative movement between said cross-piece and rollers to press a portion of the sole of said shoe into the space between,

said rollers, and means for moving said shoe with respect to said rollers.

12. A shoe flexing machine, having, in combination, means for supporting a shoe, means for forming an undulation in the sole thereof, and means for producing relative movement between said sole and said undulation forming means to cause sa1d un-' dulation to travel along said sole.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL S. NORDEN. Vitnesses FRED lV. Gmnono,

Aa'rntn L. RUSSELL. 

